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Winner of the renowned “Houses Award” in the category “Outdoor” – and also presented as a textbook example of a natural swimming pool at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

 Photo: Derek Swalwell

The theme of the Australian pavilion at the current International Architecture Exhibition in Venice is “The Pool – Architecture, Culture and Identity in Australia.” Australia has the highest per-capita density of private pools, with a total of 1.2 million active facilities. The exhibition and accompanying book examine pool culture and associated traditions throughout Australian history. Pools are a part of the life of every Australian from an early age, with a status akin to that of sacred sites. The pavilion exhibits the pool as a “piazza” in the past, alongside various future forms. One of these is the “Fairfield Pool” designed and built by BIOTOP partner Natural Swimming Pools Australia.

And this very same BIOTOP pool is part of the winning project chosen from nine competitors in the “Outdoor” category at the recent “Houses Awards“.
This prize is one of the most coveted distinctions in domestic architecture and is awarded in nine categories every year by “Houses” magazine in Australia. The landscaping by Australian architect Rachel Nolan (Kennedy Nolan Architects in Cooperation with Sam Cox Landscape) in the form of a “bushland garden” retains a pleasing primordiality. A fireplace and boat mooring are part of the unique arrangement together with the BIOTOP natural pool, whose appearance does not compete with the nearby river. The inside of the circular pool basin is completely tiled, the water surface framed by flagstones.  

BIOTOP partners Wayne Zwar and Annika Kvist are thrilled at the twofold distinction their project has received. They describe the pool as “crystal clear like a natural lake with living water.”

The Venice Architecture Biennale will continue until 27 November 2016.

Press reports and blog postings about the Biennale and the pool project:

• The Australian
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Blogger und Designer Dan Hill